As you know I have a lot of birds in my backyard. Mostly because I feed them. They are not unlike Penny in their affection for me based on their feeder fullness quotient analysis.
This week this rather cheeky yet uncertain little guy showed up.
He hopped along the deck railing, back and forth, seeming unfazed by the bird traffic all around him.
He picked at the husks of seeds left behind by previous diners.
He stared at me.
And then, eventually, he flew off.
I’m thinking he’s a juvenile red breasted grosbeak. Maybe male, given the yellowish breast? I’m using the logic that red headed woodpeckers have brown heads when they’re juveniles.
But it could be a female too, they have a yellowish cast to their chest feathers.
Mom’s super busy and she’s not paying attention to me (par for the course lately) so I figured I’d check in with you guys.
In front of one of my gardens. Mom makes me do this every. single. morning.
Life is going along like normal around here which is to say boring. Mom says boring can be a good thing. She says I should be glad both she and daddy are home with me all the time now.
Sometimes mom and I hang out on the porch.
I suppose.
Mom tried to get me to like the pool. I did not.
She says I’m going back to school in a week or so and I better remember all the things I know and not goof off this year. She’s says we’re both gonna learn some obedience.
I’d rather spend time at Katie’s park. Or any park.
Huh. It’s about time mom learned some obedience. And I stand my ground and repeat — there better be lots of treats. And the good kind too, not just kibble from my supper. She doesn’t think I know she does that. I’m a sheltie. I know everything.
Mom and me practicing stuff at Katie’s park one evening.
Anyway, mom’s been taking me to parks and stuff. I’m not totally ignored.
At one of my parks!
But geeze…I feel like I need a real adventure!
After my Friday evening group walkat another of my parks!
Your suggestions are truly appreciated.
I’ll just catch a snooze while I wait for your ideas.
When was the last time I set out on a photo shoot specifically to find barns?
It’s so long ago that I don’t remember. Sure I’ve grabbed barn images on my way to and from other places. But to go out looking for barns?
It’s been forever.
Last Sunday morning the blue sky sported fluffy white clouds as accessories and I just could not stop myself. It was physically impossible not to get into the car and start driving.
I tried to keep it reasonable. After all, gas around here is regularly over $4.00 a gallon. And I was driving a new car with low mileage that we’d like to keep low. At least for awhile.
But still…blue sky and barns. Maybe the soybeans just north of us would be turning yellow. It was a possibility given the lack of rain lately.
Blue sky and barns and yellow soybeans. Yep I could see it in my head. Would I find it in reality?
I drove for a total of three hours, slightly up north, a bit over to the west, around big country blocks, looking for the image in my brain.
I never found it, exactly. The soybeans are a persistent green, though if you squint you can sort of see a yellowish cast in small parts of the fields. Or that could just be me and wishful thinking.
I didn’t shoot any amazing barns, though I saw three really beautiful ones while I was on a busy road with nowhere to pull over. You’ll just have to conjure those up in your own minds.
But I found some pretty enough barns and experienced a few faded memories of driving these same roads years ago on other barn hunts.
It was a nice day. The sky, in the end, was the star of the show.
And I smiled at it on my drive back home. In my experience you can almost always count on the sky to come through for you, day or night when you’re out looking for something pretty.
It was a short, sweet and fun barn hunt that sort of eased the wanderlust in me. For the moment anyway. I know there are barns out there just waiting to be found. And maybe there’s one in the middle of a yellow soybean field if I get lucky and time it right.
This week I was washing dishes and caught this Coopers Hawk sitting on my deck railing.
I quietly slid away and walked silently to the living room to grab my camera. Amazingly enough Penny moved silently next to me.
I didn’t really expect the bird to still be there when I returned. They generally don’t wait for me.
But he (or she) was still there, seemingly unfazed. I watch it for a long time, even moving to a better window. It picked up one foot and tucked it into it’s chest feathers.
And then suddenly it flew. I expected that to be it.
But it only flew about 3 feet, to the corner of the deck where it could inspect the ground under some shrubs.
We used to have quite a few chipmunks. I haven’t seen one in awhile.
Then it flew away, and I figured that was it. But it showed up again about 10 minutes later, back on the deck railing, watching the back yard, inspecting the ground and the sky.
Turns out he or she was being harassed by bees.
When it left, being pursued by the bees, I was SURE I wouldn’t see it again.
Until about 30 minutes later when I walked through the master bedroom and guess who was on the bedroom deck railing? I didn’t have my camera with me, so these were taken with my phone.
Yep, our favorite (or perhaps least liked, depending on whether you’re a chipmunk) bird.
But…is this the same bird? Or a different one? Perhaps they’re a couple? Or parent and child?
I’ve been gone for a week, and when I came back I was surprised to see how well the zinnias were doing. Along with other stuff. But mostly the zinnias.
Last evening I took the dog out after her supper. The garden was mostly in shadow. But there was one beautiful monarch zipping among the blossoms.
Notice the tongue slurping up the nectar.
We went back inside for the camera. Poor Penny had to wait to do her business while I stood there, foot on her leash and shot over 200 images.
She’s a good girl. Patient about her mom taking pictures of stuff not her. I promised her I’d take her to the park soon.
My week in the south at my parents’ house started out with a great walk up Smith Mountain to climb the local fire tower.
Many of you have seen the fire tower in pictures before. I wish you all could come with me and experience the view from the top. This trip I was lucky to have the company of fellow blogger Mike from MLCreations to climb with me.
The mountain trail was it’s usual beautiful self, and the climb up the tower was it’s usual long way. We had a nice breeze and a great view at the top. It’s always worth the climb.
On the way back to the car we explored the fire road that runs around the base of the mountain. By the time we got back to the car we were ready for lunch on the deck, complete with a yummy pound cake provided by Mike. All in all, a lovely day with very nice company.
Since then the house has been filed with family, coming and going, busy, busy, busy, but not too busy to enjoy how beautiful the lake is.
Morning reflections and evening sunsets have slowed us down and made us more observant. That’s a good thing and exactly what spending time at this cabin is designed to accomplish.
I’m just lucky I got to come down. Every time I’m here I vow to come back soon, to not let so much time go between visits, but somehow I turn around and months, sometimes years, have gone by.
This time I’m going to try harder to be back before another year slips away.
This juvenile male oriole learned all about bathing this week. When I first noticed him he was standing on the edge while a little brown bird splashed around. He stared at the brown bird. I went to get my camera. By the time I got back he was in the bath too.
So you just shake your feathers?
He seemed a bit unsure, but it didn’t take long until he was fully immersed in the experience. Literally.
Like this, right?Brown bird: I’m outta here!That’s OK…more water for me!Rub a dub, dub. One bird in a tub!Look! I can draw a heart with my tail!Oh what a wonderful feeling, oh what a wonderful day!A little more tail action. I wonder if any girls are around.Hey…did I hear mom or dad call me?Time to go!It’s supper time!
Change Is Hard 